How is the number of council members determined for each municipal unit?

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board and Municipal Government Act (MGA) both come into play.

Guidelines outlined in the MGA state how often studies examining council sizes and polling district boundaries must occur within Nova Scotia. Section 369 of the MGA says the studies are due every eight years, and the last round was completed in 2014.

The polling districts are reviewed from a lens evaluating fairness, reasonableness and the number of members serving a council.

Any resulting recommendations for alterations to council size or polling boundaries must first be reviewed by municipal staff and discussed by council. Following a lengthy process that should include a public consultation component, an application is submitted to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

The review board takes several factors into account in the decision-making process: the number of electors, relative parity of voting power, population density, community of interest and geographic size. In the case of a town, the board looks at population and geographic size.

Typically speaking, the review board will hold a public hearing after an application is received, and a written decision will be released within 60 days of said hearing.

Source: Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board website.

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